


Do not go gently...

by VengeanceAngel



Series: Attempted Drabbles [13]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington - Freeform, Billy Hargrove Needs a Hug, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, talk of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:46:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24465928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VengeanceAngel/pseuds/VengeanceAngel
Summary: Billy has a secret and Steve happens to be the one available to learn what it is
Series: Attempted Drabbles [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601539
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Do not go gently...

Steve walks into the room where Max points and looks at Billy, huddled in the corner. When Max called him and told him that Billy was acting odd, he thought it had something to do with adjusting to being back and to being away from his piece of shit father finally. He and Billy had reached a truce of sorts once Billy found out that Steve had been protecting his sister from these monsters in the past. 

But they’re not exactly friends so he’s guessing Max is pretty desperate. 

He squats down so he’s in Billy’s line of sight. “Uh… hey man… Max called and said she was worried. I guess she didn’t know who to call because I know you would probably rather talk to someone else. I mean… _is_ there someone else? I can go get them. It’s not a problem or anything.”

Billy’s eyes focus in on him. “I died… at the mall…”

Steve nods. “Yeah… I was there. You knew that, though, right? I mean… once the science guys rushed in and got you… back? Max said they told you.”

Billy sighs softly and then breathes in with a shudder. “They told me, yeah. But…” He glances at the door and then back at Steve. “Where’s Max?”

Steve shakes his head. “I don’t know. I told her to go sit in my car if she wanted to. Dustin is with me, so she’ll have someone to talk to. I saw her walk out the door, but they could have wandered off somewhere. Do you need me to get her?” He starts to stand. 

Billy reaches out, not really trying to touch, but only to stop him from moving. “No… No, I don’t want her to know this.”

Steve squats back down again. “Okay... okay, that’s fine, man. I won’t get her. Is this something you want to talk about? I can listen. I don’t… I don’t know if I’ll be able to help at all, but you can talk about whatever you want. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets.”

Billy cracks a smile at that. “That’s for damn sure.” His smile fades and he wraps his arms around himself tighter and looks Steve in the eye again. “I remember it…”

Steve frowns. “The mall? Yeah, I guess… I mean you would. You saved El and all.”

Billy shakes his head. “No… that’s not what I mean. I remember… what it felt like.” He frowns, certain that he’s not explaining it right. 

“The pain? Fuck… I’m so sorry. That has to suck. But you’re back now and maybe we can-“

“ _Dying!_ ” 

Steve startles and leans back, allowing himself to sit fully on the floor in front of Billy. The weight of what Billy has been hiding hitting him solidly in the chest. “Wait… what?”

Billy shrugs a shoulder. “The feeling… the intense heat of my blood rushing and then the cold… as it slowed down…” He shivers violently. “The fading away and then this… stomach dropping… I don’t know. It was like falling off of something high up… like realizing you’re losing your balance and there’s nothing… _nothing_ there to catch you. And it was like I was being erased.” He wipes the back of his hand across his eyes quickly and looks away. “I can’t stop thinking about it… dreaming about it. It’s going to happen again. One day.”

“You don’t know that.”

Billy looks back. “Everyone dies.”

“Yeah, but not everyone is killed by a monster from some other dimensional hell who wants to make them suffer.” He gestures to the space by Billy and when he gets a nod, he scoots over and sits, crossing his feet at the ankles. “Look, what happened to you… I don’t know what that was like and I never will. But you survived it.” He puts his hand up when Billy starts to protest. “Not just because of the scientists, but because you are a survivor. I don’t know a lot about you, but I know you’re tough. And you pack a punch.” He nudges Billy’s shoulder playfully. “It’s about time you start remembering who you are and not just what was done to you.”

Billy relaxes a little. “The nightmares are pretty intense. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I know Max probably called because she’s fed up. I wake up screaming and I can’t tell her. I can’t tell anyone.”

“You told me.”

Billy smirks. “That’s because I don’t give a shit about you.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Oh yeah… forgot about that. Look… Max clearly thinks I can be helpful. How about if you come stay at mine for a few days?”

Billy lifts an eyebrow. “How’s that going to help?”

Steve shrugs. “I don’t sleep much and I guess you know why now. But still, if you have a nightmare, I’ll be there _and_ I know what’s going on so you can just talk freely. It might be good for you to be around someone who _knows_ what you’ve been hiding from the others.”

Billy looks around as if looking for a better option. Finding none, he sighs. “I mean… I guess it couldn’t hurt. You’d really do that for me?”

“I’m offering, aren’t I? And you pointed out before that I’m shit at lying so… you tell me… am I being genuine?”

Billy smirks. “God, you’re such a fucking saint.” He pushes off the wall and stands before holding out his hand. “Come on, Harrington. You can go talk to Max and I’ll pack a bag.”

Steve lets Billy pull him up. “Alright. I won’t tell her anything. I promise.”

Billy nods. “Thanks.” He turns as Steve starts walking out. “Harrington!”

Steve looks over at him and smiles. “I think you can call me Steve now.”

“Okay, Steve… don’t tell her anything, okay?”

Steve nods. “Look, can I share something with _you_ now?”

Billy frowns and then nods. “Sure, man.”

Steve looks around the room as if he’s trying to find a place to start. He finally settles on something and looks back at Billy. “I’m alone a lot. I mean… a lot. And you know… I’ve been battling this shit for a long time so… I get nightmares, too. Nothing like yours, but I get them. And nobody is ever there. Not to check on me and certainly nobody who knows what’s been going on in this town. So maybe… maybe if I do this for you… maybe you could do this for me, too?”

Billy studies him for a moment and starts to wonder what it would be like to keep a secret like the Upside Down for so long and to have nobody to talk to who actually cares enough and who isn’t a child. He realizes Steve is starting to fidget and get nervous. “Yeah… yeah, I can do that. I’d actually really like that.”

“You would?”

“Yeah, it’s good to feel useful again. And to know that in a lot of ways, I’m not alone.”

Steve releases the breath he’d been holding. “Okay… Yeah, okay. I’ll go tell Max.” He smiles and heads out. 

Billy shakes his head as he starts to pack up some clothes. “Odd couple life, here I come…”


End file.
